Using Kickstarter to fund a business startup

Everyone here likely knows what Kickstarter is, but if you don't, it's a platform where you can list your idea and have people back it financially to get you off of the ground without seeking capital from a bank or lender. There are currently 386,342 projects live on Kickstarter trying to obtain funding for their ideas, and a lot of them are getting the money they need to start up, but the majority will crash and burn resulting in a failed campaign.

If you want to increase the success rate of your campaign, you will have to do various things such as having the perfect pitch, using the right images and videos that are high quality, and being genuine so your viewers are willing to become your backers. You can't just put up a wall of text and think you're going to get millions, you need to treat your Kickstarter listing as a piece of art that is also a sales page if you can do that you'll notice people backing your idea

In this discussion, I'll be going over a few things that you need to know about Kickstarter and a couple things that will help you succeed in your next campaign, and they are:

Why Kickstarter is awesome
This isn't actually a point that will help you get more backers, but it is definitely needed, because getting funds from strangers is pretty amazing If you can show how genuine you are in your pitch, and how much you actually love your idea that isn't something that is just a for-profit idea, you will get more people wanting to help out. Now, these people don't really need your item or whatever it is you're trying to get off the ground, they're more looking to help out people and get a good deal for something they likely wouldn't have purchased prior to stumbling across your Kickstarter campaign lol

Kickstarter is amazing because it has a massive audience that helps boost peoples ideas into the stratosphere. There are Kickstarter campaigns that are looking for $25,000 and end up getting millions because of all the buzz and love the backers have for the products. Think about it, a basic card game like exploding kittens was looking to get $10,000 and ended its campaign with almost 220,000 backers investing $8,782,571 in order to bring the game to life! I actually bought this game at target for $20 and didn't realize it was on Kickstarter until I saw "Started on Kickstarter!" on the box lol

Exploding kittens ended up being one of the most funded campaigns, ranking in at #7, and it's such a simple game with a lot of imagination behind it What they did was show the cards they had already made, as well as their failed idea sketches, and it really showed they were invested in the project with not only their time but their love for the game itself. People were drawn to the game, backed it, and you already know the results

You can do this with your next campaign, as long as you dedicate your time to putting yourself into the actual pitch and not make it sound like you want to be a millionaire overnight because of all the people who are backing your idea

Setting up a great pitch
Your pitch is what sets you apart from the bad campaigns that are not taking their time to write everything just right. If you don't know how to do any sort of content writing, especially copywriting, you might want to outsource this type of work to a credible writer (like myself lol) so you get it right the first time.

Copywriting isn't like a basic "how to" article you've probably read 100 times in the past, it's a type of writing that evokes emotion from the reader and boosts their confidence at the same time, all while reeling them in to make a purchase It's not the easiest thing to do, when it comes to writing, so take your time doing it and understand that your first attempt is likely going to be horrible lol. When I'm doing copywriting for a client, I will always tell them it will take 2 weeks to finish, even if I can get it done in 1 day. I do this because I will write it up, then let it sit for 24 hours and go back to make edits. I will read through it and see what works and what turns me off, then I'll tweak it for the next 13 days and make it the best it can be to boost the engagement

Using high-quality images and videos
On freelancer marketplaces, you can get away with using basic images that don't illustrate exactly what you'll be doing, because your service descriptions will do the selling for you. However, on a platform like Kickstarter, people are looking for visuals and that means they have to be amazing!

Start with the images, if you can't design them yourself, bring in a designer and make sure everything is top notch. If you can't do this, you'll likely have a failed Kickstarter campaign and be back to complain that I lead you down the wrong path lol. Next, you'll have to focus on your videos, if you can record something where you're going through all the features of your item, which is basically a prototype, you'll be able to show everyone exactly what they'll be getting. People will want to know there has already been one or two produced and they will trust you more because they already know you can do what they'll be backing you for

Do your research prior to posting
If you are doing a Kickstarter campaign for profit, you need to do your research and figure out what you can do that will get you the most buzz, just like the previously successful campaigns. Find your Kickstarter competitors, pluck out the super successful ones, and figure out what their pages look like and what their pledge levels are/were. If you can figure out what was already successful, you'll have a better chance at getting millions for your next product

The downside of Kickstarter
The only downside of Kickstarter is that you could have thousands of backers, but your campaign may not meet its goal, and your campaign is now a failed one. If you don't get your goal in full, you will not get a single penny for your time, no matter if you're thousands of dollars short or just $1 short.

To avoid a failed campaign, try to boost your campaign using some Facebook ads and trying to get it to go viral on Reddit and niche related websites and blogs. The more eyes on your campaign, the more likely it will be successful

In conclusion
Kickstarter has turned simple ideas into million dollar projects, but it has also seen a large amount of failed campaigns from what the majority may have thought would be successful. You'll need to have great images and videos in your pitch so people can see you're invested and they know you're legitimate. You will also have to show them how you're invested in the project, not just monetarily but emotionally, so they will trust you more and want to back you. If you do everything right, you could be just like the exploding kitten's campaign and get $8,000,000+ when you're looking for just $10,000

Responses (14)

Thanks for the beautiful article. I have been tried previously about to make a kick starter project. But my country Bangladesh was not allowed on there and my country Bangladesh is not allowed on here still now. Upon allowance I have a plan to create some kick starter project for Bangladesh.

Yeah, I just had a look at their frequently asked questions section and it seems that they only allow people from the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Hong Kong, Singapore, Mexico, & Japan to start a kickstarter project. I presume it's because they can actually check up on people and they know the laws etc. for those countries. Maybe they will start to include more countries as they grow and get a bigger team.

You would need to make sure that you know them quite well though and that they can be trusted. This would be centurion's business idea and funds to start up his business so having someone else in charge of the funds that would be required to startup and posting his idea on Kickstarter would be risky.

Do you mean to say that Kickstarter is only available in selected countries and that there is an apparent discrimination of 3rd world countries? This is not to generalize things but I have seen some sites that only cater to residents of the US or Canada that sometimes I feel being discriminated. Maybe those sites that only cater to selected countries have their own reasons but in our eyes it is discrimination.

It is really nice to notice that there is a platform like the kickstarter that can enable one to list his ideas and get others to invest and in some cases grant funds for the business to grow. One key factor that I wish those thinking of taking it up should do is to do a deep analysis of the type of business that they want to do and the need to take good care of it. This is the reason I feel bad when I see business plans that are not done the right way.

I have heard of Kickstarter. In fact I even know few virtual friends who tried Kickstarter to fund their business. I don't know whether they succeeded getting enough funds for their business or not. However, I have been suggested Kickstarter to fund my online and brick and mortar business by many people, however, I have never considered this seriously. I am based in Asia and I don't know whether I am eligible to start a campaign or not. I have checked a couple of crowdfunding programs like GoFund, LendingClub, Zidisha etc. however, none of these programs accepted campaigns fro my location.
The ideas presented here are interesting. I might check Kickstarter soon.

Yeah, some platforms are picky as to the locations that can start up campaigns. I'm not sure why they do this, maybe due to the laws of the countries that aren't able to list or something like that.

If you're starting up a campaign for your brick and mortar business, you'll likely fail. Instead, what you'll want to do is start up a campaign for something unique to your business, like a product of your own that people love, and the backers (investors) will flock to you and hopefully invest into your product.

You'll want to do your research before you start anything on Kickstarter because if you're not getting investors right away, you're essentially dead in the water. You'll definitely want to have everything as high quality as possible, and that means your videos as well as any images you use and even your text. You should probably hire a copywriter and even a team to do a quick little advertising video to showcase what you're trying to get backed through their platform.

After you do all of that, you'll need to run some ads in order to get even more exposure, but be sure to target people who already like Kickstarter because they're likely the ones who have accounts there and can easily back your campaign. If you do general targeting, you'll essentially be trying to convince others to create an account, then back your campaign which won't go well because of that little extra step. Remember, people are lazy, so you'll want to target others who already have accounts

In my opinion only a very miniscule portion gets funded by the kick starter program, the whole idea is good but like all food ideas, theres always a downside. You don't have to be a genius to see that their just getting ideas from all the people who are submitting their applications. Those that are getting funded serves as showcases to reel in more submissions. If I've got a new business idea, I won't share it with anyone.

There's a Kickstarter program in my country and its run by big businesses, that's why it failed. Even though they funded several businesses, people didn't like all the paperworks. It's ended looking like a collateralized loan at the end.

Wow... i didn't know about this and i think i wanna try it. The information you have shared is a great help for people that are trying to start a business but lack in resources, of course it's not a 100% guarantee but it's an option. Your tips and suggestions regarding Kickstarter is a plus for us. I will definitely have a look and try to study the options. Thank you...

I still haven’t come to the point of fully understanding crowd funding. Speaking from my experience, I still wonder why people will put in their money to a planned project. I know that Kickstarter is a popular platform that you can have many prospects for your needed investment. However, I am still groping for a reason why people would invest on a project being planned by someone they don’t really know. I will be honest, all right. What if the project is just a scam to obtain investment money?

Kickstarter is great but you also need to have the proper credentials for the project that you intend to do, or else no one will support and fund you (or you won't even be approved by kickstarter). Also, you have to follow through with your business idea if it reaches the funding goal so you won't be labeled as a scam.

April 15, 2018, 7:51 am

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